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livingwithashipname-blog · 7 years

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i used to love scorpion but it's become mediocre since the second half of season 2 bc all they've done is bait waige. tbh, it's not a good ship and maybe i'm biased bc i've headcanoned walter as aromantic (which would've worked much better in terms of his character since the show seems to be telling ppl with higher IQ that to find a place they belong they have to develop EQ to "evolve" when as a society, we should be accepting them and not making them fit in with us)

No offense anon, but… Is there a question in this? It’s unclear exactly what you’d like to discuss or know from me. But I chose to take my time with this response in order to open a discussion within the fandom. This isn’t a rant. Lol!

I disagree with the notion that the show is telling its audience that high IQ, low EQ individuals have to develop EQ to evolve or fit into society. This insinuates that the geniuses sacrifice their intellect in order to become less socially inept. This is simply not the case. One of the show’s core messages is to communicate the benefits of emotional intelligence in relation to one’s goals to share that intellect with the masses - learning to adapt without sacrificing identity. The message is continuously addressed with Walter O’Brien because he is the genius with the lowest EQ, the creator of Scorpion, and uses his business as a hub for like-minded individuals with various skill sets.

What makes us different from animals as humans is cognition - the ability to reflect on our thoughts and experiences and act on them to change ourselves and our environments. Walter is not efficient at processing emotion to label it properly, meaning that he can not identify behaviors to which he can not relate. This does not mean he can not emote, but the amount of EQ he gains over time is learned. It does not derive from within. The same is true of the other geniuses to a lesser extent. (Elyes Gabel talked about this at the cast’s first SDCC appearance - Walter has an emotional vault that he struggles to access.) Furthermore, Walter’s environment contributes to how well he can regulate his emotions. In the show, Walter’s intelligence was fostered as a child through his work for the government. But his emotional development was only fostered through Megan because she accepted him for his differences unlike his parents. This is why he was so protective of her medical care and fought hard on an intellectual level to save her. Since Walter’s emotional development is an arc for the entire series, his character will be written to show his successes and failures in various aspects of his life in relation to his life goals.

As far as attraction is concerned, Walter could be written as aromantic in relation to his genius. This would have been a great and intriguing development. But various moments in the show suggest that Walter, at the least, is romantically attracted to women for now. Therefore, his emotional intelligence will also have an impact on any romantic relationship he seeks to have given the show’s premise. If you’ll indulge me, allow me to explain using recent scenarios from the show, present the conundrum that lies within fandom, and how that conundrum is capitalized in order to “bait” fans on Waige under the cut. It’s long, so don’t say I didn’t warn ya! 😜

Examples from Canon

In episode 2.22 Hard Knox, the team mobilized to help Ralph win his court battle. Ralph tried to explain his program’s functions to Walter, but he couldn’t understand Ralph’s approach. Sadly, Walter projected his frustration over a problem he couldn’t solve in that moment onto Ralph. This led to Ralph walking away feeling defeated and Paige threatening to quit. When he realized the mistake in his behavior, he approached Ralph and said this, “what upset me is that you were willing to slow down for me to-to let me go down the wrong road, when that would’ve hindered you, because I couldn’t grasp your work. Never hobble your intelligence for anyone… because if you do that in this garage, imagine what you’ll have to do out there… for humans. The world needs to catch up to you… because if-if it can, just a little, imagine what a… a beautiful place it could be.” This example is unique because it reinforces the show’s core message in IQ vs. EQ on the basis of intelligence, not emotion.

In 3.15 Sharknerdo, Walter argued with the client over the way he stated the service fee instead of accepting the fact that the client was not interested in learning the correct way to communicate $109,000. This cost the team their job and dismantled the weeks of work Paige did to secure that contract. Paige was rightfully frustrated because Walter couldn’t get like Elsa and let it go. 😂 Plus, it’s even more frustrating that Walter secured a new job on contingency, where payment is only guaranteed upon completion of services. This is bad for Walter despite the fact that Paige is the liaison for several reasons: 1) he talked with the client in her absence, 2) he lost a job with a secured fee and replaced it with a less secure one (that’s not good business when you have employees to pay), and 3) he is the boss of Scorpion who makes the final decisions. In Paige’s absence, he is the next point of contact for independent jobs (those not issued through Homeland Security). This is the statute of limitations when it comes to his goals for Scorpion. He has to acquire skill sets to make him more efficient at communicating with average/high EQ, non-geniuses if he wants to diversify his clientele to do more good in the world. In other words, he has to learn and apply approaches on an EQ level to appeal to normals in order to get them to his level or create an equal playing field. Another great example of this can be found in his interaction with the foreman in 3.14 The Hole Truth after his talk with Happy. I apply the same tactic as a researcher. I have to know my audience and how to address them in order to communicate my findings and spark interest. If I do not, I limit my reach and open doors to miscommunication and misunderstanding.

Also take into consideration instances where Walter has lied about facts in order to achieve the greater good. Episode 2.04 Robots is a great example. What’s also interesting about this episode and others in which this has happened is that Walter doubts the scope of his own emotional intelligence. The same is seen with Happy Quinn whose EQ is closer to Walter’s. If you have read any of my reviews, I talk about this doubt factor several times. Walter and Happy have demonstrated emotional mastery in both their work and personal lives. Their main issue is consistency outside the limitations their logical brains impose on their emotional functionality. Yet overall, they improve each season.

This show is loosely-based on the real Walter O’ Brien, who is an executive producer. If you ask him to choose between IQ and EQ, he will tell you, EQ over IQ, from his own personal experiences which has been infused widely throughout this show. You can read that interview HERE and learn what he did to create the show. It’s very enlightening!

Fandom Realities

Here’s the conundrum that stems from fandom. (If you read the interview, then you already got a sense of what I am about to say.) Scorpion is an action dramedy in two parts - personal stuff and mission stuff. And these two elements are interchanged in every episode. However, the majority of fan commentary on the show is about the romances first, the other personal storylines second, and the missions last. This means the greatest pull, as far as spoilers and other marketing strategies are concerned, is information on the ships whether it’s through social media, press releases, or cast interviews. The majority of fans don’t get excited over the missions (or else that would be reflected in fandom convo and creations). Scorpion covers some real projects like the Chernobyl dome and the Svalbard Doomsday Vault (both of which are really cool btw). And I am curious if an upcoming episode will take a note from a docu-drama on Mars that debuted on National Geographic. Anyways, Waige is not canon and yet Waige-centric episodes receive behind-the-scenes exclusives on pop culture news sites like Entertainment Online. Katherine McPhee and Elyes Gabel are sent out on press to talk about them. You do not see similar treatment with the other ships because Waige is the main ship of the show. All others are side ships, regardless how much exposure they get. Quintis is highlighted in the storyline because the relationship is between two main characters, who are both high IQ, low EQ individuals, as opposed to Callie (RIP 💀) which is between a main and a guest, both of whom have average/high EQ.

The showrunners, writers, cast have alluded and established in many ways that Waige is an endgame, slow burn otp. The mystery lies in WHEN this will happen. It would be stupid for them to reveal that information. But they use episodes to answer that question for the fans. As fans, we can choose to trust what is there to put our expectations in check or fall for the bait! Besides, we get more receipts the more the writers use more than one episode to foreshadow. If we don’t like what we see after some time, we have to determine what is the breaking point and move on or devise a new plan to indulge the content (e.g., skip episodes, binge later). We also have to take into consideration that some decisions are in the hands of network execs. At the end of the day, it makes no sense to engage in endless emotional masochism over something we no longer enjoy. It’s silly! But I digress. If you want to know more about my theories on Waige, feel free to go to my page, type “the Waige flip” in the search engine, and read all about it. As someone who ships Waige, I don’t have any questions on them until season 4, episode 12/13.

I will not argue whether Waige is a good ship or not because it’s not my place to police opinion. What I will say is that Waige is an intriguing pairing because it is a relationship between a low EQ individual and a high EQ individual - a genius and a normal. (Btw, high IQ, high EQ individuals exist - it’s a function of nature vs. nurture. But that’s a topic for a different day!). Melvester had the same dynamic, but the EQ gap between Megan and Sly was much less than that between Walter and Paige. For this reason, Waige will always face unique challenges. Like I said at the beginning of all this, Walter’s emotional development is a series arc and his triumphs and failures will extend to his personal life. But one thing this show does well is communicate understanding in the team’s decisions, both geniuses and non-geniuses, whether you agree with their stances or not. That’s necessary given the show’s premises!

If you’ve read up to this point, CONGRATS!!! You have survived another Emanda’s Inner Sanctum analysis/thought piece! Toodles peeps! 😘✌🏾️

#ermanda's inner sanctum #answered #anon #cbs scorpion #scorpion cbs #team scorpion #livingwithashipname

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